Alexander Tottenham

Sir
Alexander Robert Loftus Tottenham
Diwan of Pudukkottai
In office
1934–1946
MonarchRajagopala Tondaiman
Preceded byB. G. Holdsworth
Succeeded byC. P. Karunakara Menon
Personal details
Born(1873-07-31)31 July 1873
Died13 December 1946(1946-12-13) (aged 73)
Pudukkottai, British India
Occupationcivil servant

Sir Alexander Robert Loftus Tottenham CIE (31 July 1873 – 13 December 1946) was a British civil servant and administrator who served as the Diwan of Pudukkottai state from 1934 to 1944.

Early life

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Alexander Tottenham was born to British naval officer John Francis Tottenham and his wife Laura Ellen Dodd Janverin on 31 July 1873.[1] Alexander graduated from Clifton College, Bristol[2] and did his post-graduation from Queen's College, Oxford.[1]

Career

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Alexander passed the 1896 Indian Civil Service examinations and arrived in India on 5 December 1897[3] where he served as District Collector and Assistant Magistrate in the Madras Presidency. From 1923 to 1932, he was as a member of India's Central Board of Revenue.[4] Alexander retired from the Indian Civil Service in 1933 at the age of sixty.[4]

Pudukkottai

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In 1934, Tottenham was appointed Diwan of Pudukkottai and he served until his death in 1946. Tottenham is regarded as one of the best administrators of Pudukkottai and promoted arts and industry.[5] A portrait of Alexander Tottenham hangs in the Government Museum, Thirukokarnam.[6]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. Vol. 1. U.S.A. p. 1325.
  2. ^ "Clifton College Register" Muirhead, J.A.O. p137: Bristol; J.W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society; April, 1948
  3. ^ The India office and Burma office list. London: Harrison and Sons. 1903. p. 549.
  4. ^ a b Woodruff, Philip (1954). "The Guardians". The Men Who Ruled India. Vol. 2. Jonathan Cape. pp. 221–225.
  5. ^ Menon, Vapal Pangunni (1961). The story of the integration of the Indian States. Orient Longman. p. 293.
  6. ^ Chandrasekhar, M. S. (1996). Guide to the principal exhibits in the Government Museum, Pudukkottai. Director of Stationery and Print. p. 73.

Biographies

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  • Nagarajan, Krishnaswami (1992). Sir Alexander Tottenham. N. Ramachandran.